Kurdish Islamic parties disown Iran & Barham Salih promises reclaiming Gov. property

 By:Shwan Zulal

Awena Newspaper, have been reporting that Komal and Yakgrtu (Islamic Parties) have been secretly sending their representatives to Iran. Both parties have rejected the report and say "there not such visits taking place". 


It is not a secret that most Islamic political parties in Iraq have some connection with Iran. However, since the protests both opposition parties in Kurdistan have kept their distance from Iran because Kurdish public mistrust the Iranian Islamic regime and its intentions. Moreover, if the report is turns out to be true, it will be a severe blow to both the Islamic parties. The incumbent parties would obviously accuse them of being Iran's proxy and public may turn against them.

Political Islam has been penetrating the Kurdish society in the last 10 years and the government did not have a clear policy to deal with the phenomena. In the past PUK and KDP with a majority public support, have flushed out any fundamental Islamic movement out of Kurdistan. However, after a rethink by the Islamic parties, they have reinvented themselves and so far, they have been very successful in reaching out to people. 


Yet another problem, lying in store for the future, created by lack of vision from KRG. This has let political Islam flourish and become an alternative to modern secular values which has been betrayed by the incumbent political parties.  Kurdish society is largely muslins but fundamentalism is frowned upon and not many people want to see an Islamic state. 

Meanwhile, Barham Salih, Kurdistan Region prime minister said in a statement, "the decision to recover public property by KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) is not motivated against any single group".  And went on to say “If Goran(Change Movement) believes the decision is made against them, I assure them it is not true, gradually every party and organization will have to return property unlawfully taken from the government”.

This statement on the face value is proposing a very sensible policy, and is one of the demands made by protesters. However, it remains to be seen whether the government could be taken seriously and PUK (patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and KDP(Kurdistan Democratic Party) adhere to it. 


One can interpret this move as a cynical move by PUK to embarrass Goran who take residence in a property in Slemani, which used to be publicly owned youth centre. Alternatively, it may be another signal to KDP, saying that PUK is willing to change and are ready to dare KDP.  

If the initiative is a spin and designed to try to undermine the opposition, public are much more aware now and can read between the lines. Otherwise, if it is a shift in PUK policy, this can be welcomed as a recognition of past mistakes. Nevertheless, they need to do much more to convince the public with their good intentions and returning property alone cannot mend all the wrongs of the past. This would be a step in the right direction but many are sceptical as to its implementation and so far, KDP has not made any comments about the remarks from the PM.  

Amnesty International condemns torture and Kurds commemorate Anfal genocide

By Shwan Zulal
Today the Anfal commemorations are taking place in many towns and cities across Kurdistan. The anti-Kurdish "Anfal" campaign carried out by the Iraqi Regime between February to September 1988. According to HRW-ME the operations were both genocidal and gendercidal in nature and the "Battle-age" men were the main targets of Anfal. Many people including women and children died in these vicious attacks by the Baath regime and many more suffered from rape and torture.

This event will stay in the memory of the Kurds forever and its wounds may heal but the scars will always be there. While the atrocities were ongoing for several months, the world kept silent, as one Kurdish activist tweeted "When Kurds faced the genocide campaign of Anfal, the silence of Arab nations and the Islamic world was deafening".

Nevertheless, I and many other did not expected that 23 years later we would see Amnesty International headlines reading "SECURITY FORCES ABOVE THE LAW IN IRAQI KURDISTAN". Furthermore;" Asayish (security) officials, including some who were tortured and others who were forcibly disappeared and whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown. " Amnesty also talk about torture; "Torture methods include electric shocks to different parts of the body; beatings with fists, cables and metal or wooden batons; suspension by the wrists or ankles; beating on the soles of the feet (falaqa); sleep deprivation and kicking." While reading the latest report saying "Amnesty International also found disturbing evidence of targeted attacks on political activists, torture and other ill-treatment of people arrested in connection with the protests, and attacks or threats against journalists, media outlets, government critics, academics and students," it feels surreal, and one cannot believe they are talking about the same people who fought against similar practices by Baath regime.

The accusations of such inhumane treatment of their own citizens is unreal and marks a very sad day in the modern Kurdish history. Those who are part of this system and support the current people in power must take a moment and pause for thought. Away from party politics and tribal rivalries, think about what went wrong and why we are here. It is shameful to support anyone who is capable of such cruelty and lack of respect for human life.

I still remember the two old men "dumped" by the authorities at the end of our street in Slemani (Sulaimaniyah) during the Anfal genocide. They were fragile and looked as if they have just been to hell and back yet, they were dignified. Strangers looked after them and no one asked them who they were or where they were from. Baath regime did bring all frail men and women to towns and cities, leaving them in the streets, just to remind people if they dissent, this could be their fate. The only hope people had was a bunch of brave men and women in the mountains trying their hardest to defend them. However, none of the people including me who witnessed the brutality of Saddam thought that one day we would see today's headlines.

Many may argue there are big differences between Saddam and the Kurdish warlords. There is no doubt they cannot be compared but just being better than Saddam is not acceptable. They must be very different and never resort to hurting any Kurdish citizen because they disagree. Everyone in government including the President have condemned attacks and torture but according to Amnesty International and many other reports this keep going on. Condemning it is a good thing but not doing anything about in position of power is deplorable.

I usually write about factual events and try not to bring emotion to it but reading the report from Amnesty plus seeing and hearing about the violations in the last months makes me emotional. I hope those who are still supporting the militia responsible for human Right violations think again and ask themselves why they are supporting and propping up a system, which is responsible for hurting our own people. I end my plea by saying nothing in the world is worth hurting and torturing another human being. If you are supporting this system, think again and do not be a passive collaborator, otherwise you will be on the wrong side of history.